UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Inroads are being made in delivering humanitarian aid to millions of people in war-stricken and famine-threatened Yemen thanks to a cease-fire, the chief UN spokesman said on Tuesday.

"The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen aims to reach some 15 million people," Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, told reporters at a regular briefing.

The World Food Programme (WFP), aiming to reach 12 million of those people, has been able to reach thousands of families south of Hodeidah, Yemen's major Red Sea port city, he said. "They have received aid for the first time in more than six months."

"More than 10,000 families in the communities of Al Tuhayat and Al Darayhimi were reached with more than 3,300 metric tons of food thanks to the recent cease-fire deal," Dujarric said, adding they were the first humanitarian shipments delivered since July 2018 when a WFP-contracted truck was hit in the area.

Such attacks on humanitarian aid vehicles led to a slowdown of aid.

However, he said that the agency scaled up the delivery of food and food vouchers last month to around 8 million people throughout the country. In the coming weeks, the WFP aims to reach 12 million people to help avert famine in the country.

The aid agencies have provided supplies to 1,400 newly displaced people in Taizz governorate, south of Hodeidah, while 42,000 people in Hajjah governorate, just northeast of Hudeidah, will receive hygiene kits, the spokesman said.

He also pointed out that the World Health Organization provided supplies for three months for the Ibb (city) blood bank, southeast of Hudeidah.

Agencies of the UN have been warning for several weeks that the embattled country faces famine if aid doesn't reach the victims.

Shiite Houthi rebels, allegedly backed by Iran, have been battling Sunni Yemen government troops, backed by Saudi Arabia, since 2015.

Last month, the world organization mediated a cease-fire and helped establish the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) with representatives of both sides to negotiate withdrawal of their troops from Hudeidah, its port and two minor ports, to facilitate aid shipments.

Dutch Gen. Patrick Cammaert, chairman of the technical talks, "shuttled" between opposing members of the RCC who refused to meet face-to-face.

But now published reports say the talks are deadlocked over interpretation of details in the cease-fire accord known as the Stockholm Agreement.

Already a deadline has passed for more expansive talks to begin, as called for under the Stockholm Agreement. While the reports say Jordan has acquiesced to host the talks, no date has been given for opening of discussions.

The International Crisis Group, a neutral nongovernmental organization think tank, says the talks are on the brink of collapse. Enditem

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